Constructing Singapore: Elitism, Ethnicity and the Nation-building Project

Constructing Singapore studies Singaporean nation-building by focusing on two processes: elite formation and elite selection. It gives primary attention to the role that ethno-racial ascription plays in these processes, but also considers the input of personal connections, personal power, class and gender. It is a study of the progress of Singapore’s state-sponsored nation-building project to its current state whereby a Singaporean version of Chinese ethno-nationalism has overwhelmed the discourse on national and Singaporean identity. Based upon archival research and formal interviews, this study unpacks the culture of elite governance in Lee Hsien Loong’s Singapore today.